The Flywheel

Next Meeting: Friday, June
10th

The Civil Air Patrol

Richmond Rotarian Edgar deLeon introduces
the Club to the Diablo Composite Squadron 44 of the Civil
Air Patrol. CAP is the US Air Force auxiliary. Its missions
include air/ground search and rescue and disaster
relief; promoting aviation and aerospace education & transforming
youth ages 12 – 20 into responsible aerospace leaders.
Edgar will also give us a brief description of CAP participation
in the, 'Wreaths Across America' program

Meeting of Friday, June 3rd

Welcome, Invocation, Thought for the Day

President Alan Baer rang the bell and
called the meeting to order. Mr. Nonsense Norm
Foley led the pledge of allegiance and Stoney asked
for a moment of silence for peace and justice on earth.

Rotarians with Guests

Norm Foley introduced his wife,
Bonnie.

Michael Gill introduced Richard
Ozer, owner of a computer services company in Oakland
and a friend of today’s speaker.

Sunshine Report

Because of Bill Koziol’s absence
and the cloud-covered skies, there was nothing reported
with regard to sunshine (so everyone seems to be doing
ok?).

Announcements

The Teen Mom kits, which Richmond Rotarians packed
with care at the regular Friday meeting on May 27,
were delivered on Thursday, June 2, to both Kennedy
and Richmond High Schools.

The mid-month Richmond Rotary meeting will not be
held on Friday, June 17, but, instead, will be held
on Wednesday, June 15, at His Lordship’s Restaurant
in Berkeley (joint meeting with Berkeley and San Pablo
Clubs). The speaker will be a seismic expert talking
about earthquakes (not if but when).

The annual Rotarian baseball outing will be at the
Oakland A’s Coliseum on Saturday, August 20.
Cost is $30 per person. The 6:05pm game will feature
the A’s and the Toronto Blue Jays. Plan to stay
for the fireworks show after the game. Before the
game, a Rotarian tail-gate will get started in the
parking lot by about 3:30pm (more info to follow).

Recognitions

Nick Despota and his bride, Nel,
recently celebrated 38 years of marriage with a family
gathering at a rented condo in Pismo Beach. The Despotas
also found out that their son and his wife will be
having their first child, making Nick and Nel first-time
grandparents.

Norm Foley volunteered that he celebrated
his birthday about a week ago and that his wife Bonnie
has one coming up in three weeks.

Happy and Sad Dollars

Josh Genser will miss the next three
meetings but is happy about upcoming travels, including
a couple of trips up to his cabin and a getaway to
Montana.

David Brown had happy dollars about
Aubrey Huff being back in the Giants line-up but sad
dollars about Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier, still
being held captive by Hamas after five years.

Joan Davis was happy about becoming
a grandparent for the fourth time.

Edgar DeLeon offered happy dollars
about his son speaking at Richmond Rotary next meeting
(June 10) about the Civil Air Patrol.

Norm's Nonsense

The businesswoman ordered a fancy floral arrangement
for the grand opening of her new outlet. She was
furious when it arrived adorned with a ribbon which read, "May
You Rest in Peace."

Apologizing profusely, the florist finally got her to
calm down with the reminder that somewhere a funeral
home was displaying an arrangement bearing the words "Good
Luck in your New Location."

PROGRAM

The astronomical observatory in our backyard

Jim Young introduced Jon Wilson, son
of Richmond Rotarian John Wilson.

A high school math teacher and a lover of astronomy,
Jon is President of the Mount Diablo Observatory Association
(MDOA), a cooperating organization within Mount Diablo
State Park and a sister group of the long-established
Mount Diablo Astronomical Society (MDAS).

Incorporated in 1988, MDOA members planned, raised funds
and established an astronomical observatory on Mount
Diablo, which includes a computer-controlled Celestron
14 telescope with various electronic attachments as well
as a classroom-sized warm-up room for public briefings
and instruction.

Check out the MDAS
web site and look for the schedule of events,
ways to become a member (amateurs welcome), and opportunities
to participate in the exciting free programs open
to the public. Donations are also accepted in order
to expand educational offerings and help get kids
jazzed about science.

With his infectious enthusiasm for the subject, Jon
shared some great photos and fascinating information.

Distances in the vastness of space are usually expressed
in light years with one light year being the distance
that light travels in a year. Speeding along at 186,000
miles per second, light covers about six trillion
miles in one year. [A trillion is, of course, a pretty
serious number as any student of America’s
debt crisis knows.]

Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is about 100,000 light
years across.

Countless objects in the universe, from what Jon
called globular clusters to Ring Nebula to other
galaxies, are estimated to be millions of light years
away from earth (that’s many, many trillions
of miles).

Astronomy is like a time machine – we’re
always looking at “old” light. For
example, even light from our own sun takes about
8.5 minutes to reach the earth.

Hundreds of star-planetary systems like our solar
system have been (and are being) discovered. But
who knows if there’s “life” out
there.

- Tom Waller, Rotating Scribe

The ESCAPE Club photo collection is now available in the Connections page.

Upcoming Programs

June 15(Wednesday!)
We meet at Hs. Lordship’s restaurant for a spec
ial
BARSHEEP luncheon. We'll hear a program about earthquakes
by seismic expert, Dr. Robert Uhrhammer. No meeting
on June 17.

June 24
Demotion of Alan Baer, returning him back to the ranks
of plain old Citizen Baer.
And with Demotion, comes promotion of EJ Shalaby to
his new role as President.

Have a suggestion for a speaker?
Please pass along the name and contact information
to Jim Young.